For more than a decade Australian employers have been openly critical of the
attitudes, competencies and behaviour of high school leavers, complaining that
schools have been inadequately preparing students for employment. This article
examines a number of surveys of employers to identify the major complaints of
school leavers, then discusses each in turn to ascertain their accuracy. Comparative
statistics for school retention rates and comparative levels of academic achievement
of students in other countries are included in this discussion. Finally, the results
of a survey conducted to determine the perceptions of Japanese and Victorian year
11 students concerning the importance they feel employers place on various school
subjects, attitudes and behaviours are examined
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